Adopt An Issue: An In-Depth Look at Afterschool Enrichment Programs By Lara Wibeto, Graduate Student University of Rhode Island July 16,2014 “Disadvantaged children benefit if they have an opportunity to participate in excellent after-school enrichment programs.”(Ravitch, 2013)
Introduction I asked the question: “WHY should all school districts offer afterschool enrichment programs and summer enrichment opportunities in Rhode Island and nationally?” The main goal of my research was to demonstrate how well-orchestrated afterschool enrichment programs can assist students and their families both locally and nationally to build knowledge, improve self-esteem as well as self-confidence, promote overall well-being, and create strong relationships between community members, student families, and school staff that allow students to thrive and also succeed academically in a safe environment. Afterschool enrichment programs should be a catalyst by which students in grades K through 12 may obtain services for improving developmental and personal growth as well as to support academic achievement. Statement of Relevance for Research of Afterschool Enrichment Programs My research also supports my belief that afterschool programs can promote a sense of community by acting as an epicenter of community support and activities that strengthen students’ families through diverse learning opportunities that engage and help participating students to be better prepared for learning through various age appropriate activities offered within those afterschool programs. Summer enrichment programs continue the services that the afterschool program offers during the school year and has many benefits both developmentally and academically for all grade school children which I will discuss in detail using various national studies of successful programs. Afterschool Enrichment Programs in Rhode Island www.riaspa.org 2014. Afterschool Map Data derived from www.afterschoolri.org/resource-center/afterschool-program-map . Rhode Island has 224 afterschool programs serving more than 11,000 students statewide according to the Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance(RIASPA) which is the state organization that oversees all RI afterschool programs Other helpful websites for parents and school staff are the Rhode Island Parent Information Network(RIPIN),PASA or Providence After School Alliance, Parent Support Network of Rhode Island, Bright Stars, and Rhode Island Kids Count. There is ample detailed information on programs and others to assist Rhode Island students and their families with educational, nutritional, and developmental needs. ( www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=7065Bringing youngsters to URI: Graduate Students in reading education help solve literacy challenges. May 6, 2014 Ed.) The University of Rhode Island has an Afterschool Literacy Program The program, run by Theresa Deeney, Associate Professor of Education, provides one-on-one literacy instruction and assessments to students K through 12 who are identified as having reading challenges. A Champlin grant allowed Ms. Deeney to create a technology network to assist students with disabilities to have an educational level playing field with their peers that met for several months Monday through Friday.
www.ricj.org. Programs tab, scroll down to Youth tab, then hit the Youth Action Council tab in the left sidebar. The Rhode Island for Community and Justice Center in Providence, RI has a Youth Action Council that is a year-round afterschool program for leadership education, community service projects, and mentoring programs. The students fight bigotry and racism by forming coalitions to within various communities. This group also organizes with Project Respect to prevent teens from succumbing to violence, criminal activity, and substance abuse by pairing teens with peer groups and adult mentors in the Providence area. The Providence After School Alliance(PASA) is a nationally recognized best practices afterschool enrichment and Summer Scholars enrichment program for all Providence Public School District students 18 and under. Cities such as Cincinnati, Ohio have adopted this afterschool enrichment model in their school districts. This year PASA is piloting a summer break lunch program citywide at various Providence schools and community centers to prevent the summer learning slide and malnutrition of its students while school is not in session. The Summer Scholars program takes urban youth to conduct hands on research and activities related to STEM and 21st Century Skills that are partially funded by RTTT initiatives that work with groups such as Save the Bay to expose children to oceanography and earth sciences who are not typically exposed to these types of sciences at an early age within an urban environment. Additional examples of successful afterschool programs locally are two that take place at Susan M. Hensler Quidnesset Elementary School and Davisville Middle School. The North Kingstown Child Opportunity Zone Family Learning partnership or COZ/FLP serves 54% or 186 students who are at or below the poverty line at QES and 24% or 131 students at DMS.(nksd.net) There are 61 homeless students attending QES and 18 more in other schools at NKSD which provoked the district to pursue private donations and federal 21st CLCC funds to establish student and family assistance with educational, emotional, and nutritional needs. As a side note, federal 21st CLCC funds are funded through RTTT, a US Department of Education initiative which was created by the Obama Administration in 2010 to replace the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind which began the focus on teacher quality and promotion of common core standards for all US schools as well as a focus on measuring teacher and educational quality through high stakes standardized statewide testing which is why RTTT funding requirements are being refused or discontinued in various states currently due to attached standardized test related high school graduation requirements and threats to teacher tenure that many view as unethical and unattainable. I taught English Language Arts in Phoenix, Arizona where I had a high number of ESL students in my classes who did not do well on standardized tests in English because the English language was so new to them but the state mandated that all students take the tests. Several of my students did a very poor job on the test and these scores were recorded on our teacher evaluations. Most teachers never got above “developing” at our middle school because the test scores were directly tied to our teaching performance goal attainment. Many veteran teachers retired or left after NCLB’s harsh teacher evaluation methods left them with no choice but to spare their excellent teaching records from being tarnished by the new focus on teaching to boost standardized test performance or to improve test taking abilities for students. Urban centers elsewhere have seen an exodus of veteran teachers as a result of the new push for common core national standards and teaching to the test as funding requirements of both NCLB and RTTT.
In North Kingstown, The Blessings in a Backpack program allows students identified as at risk in the program to stop by the school’s family learning office and ask for school supplies, snacks, and food items Monday through Friday as needed to be prepared to learn throughout the school year. The district also provides bus transportation for their programs K to 8. 98% of North Kingstown School District afterschool enrichment students’ parents polled in 2012-2013 said they would re-enroll their child or children in the after school programs there. There is a Homework Club at DMS hosted by teachers funded by RTTT funds and various enrichment opportunities funded by 21st CCLC grant funding, NKSD, RIDE as well as the North Kingstown Arts Council. RTTT provides the test preparation and tutoring for math and reading literacy in regard to Common Core Standards, however students are tutored in all risk of failure subject areas. There are also programs for disabled students beyond tutoring that include accommodations for Unified Sports or other clubs of the student’s choice. A summer enrichment program at North Kingstown School District runs for 6 weeks for at risk students. The information I gathered about this program is firsthand from my employment as a long-term district substitute teacher and as an employee of the DMS Family Learning Center during the 2013-14 school year, compiled by the North Kingstown School Committee and reported to the RI Department of Education.
National Impact of Afterschool Enrichment Programs
(Little, P., Wimer, C., & Weiss, H. B. (2008). After school programs in the 21st century: Their potential and what it takes to achieve it.)
I researched the national impact of Afterschool enrichment programs as a way to decrease the socioeconomic education gap for all students and their families. One Harvard Family Research Project study found that teens are at most risk of being crime victims or to be involved in criminal activity between the hours of 3-6 p.m. which is justification for keeping adolescents off of the streets and engaged in activities that improve overall wellness and success in school in after school enrichment programs Teens who were 16-17 years old had more serious vehicular accidents during these peak unattended afterschool hours. Fifty-six percent of students under the age of 18 are left unattended for four or more hours during the school week. The Harvard study also pointed out that unattended high school students were more likely to become sexually active and use drugs or alcohol if left unattended during after school hours leading to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. These facts seem to justify the use of afterschool programs to prevent juvenile delinquency and to improve academic performance.
In addition to keeping children out of harm’s way, afterschool enrichment programs improve development by offering physical, nutritional, and overall positive interaction with school staff and their peers. Only one in seven grade school students in 2011 were unsupervised by adults after school in 2011. This is much improved from the one in four school aged children who were unsupervised back in 1997. Ten percent of all grade school children in the United States is participating in an afterschool care setting according to the 2012 US Census. (www.census.gov) Currently, over 56 % of US students participate in an aftercare or afterschool setting which is why I believe it is important to have federal oversight and state guidelines to make sure that best practice essentials are firmly in place at all afterschool programs in the United States to maximize positive student and community outcomes.
(Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., & Eccles, J. S. (Eds.). (2005). Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after school and community programs. Psychology Press.)
Children whose parents worked until late in the evening fare worse academically than peers whose parents are able to be at home and help with homework which is why afterschool programs are so essential especially for young adults ages 13 and up whose parents cannot obtain subsidized afterschool care Many researchers are carefully assessing the best delivery of after school enrichment to our nation’s most at risk teens and there are many promising developments. .
(Hull, G., & Zacher, J. (2010). What is after-school worth? Developing literacy and identity out of school. Building Smart Education Systems, pp. 20-23.)
One study of adolescents enrolled in afterschool enrichment programs to help address poverty and lack of access to basic educational tools in urban settings in New York City and Oakland, California showed excellent outcomes for attendees by working on alternative literacy acquisition techniques such as film or digital diaries. I find the Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth(DUSTY)so refreshingly unique and creative in its mission to draw student’s stories out in a highly educational and freeing way through film and digital technology. I like technology based programs such as DUSTY because they foster STEM(science, technology, engineering and math) skill development as well as career exploration through structured and unstructured student-driven learning opportunities after school or throughout the summer months. The positive impact from this exposure to higher level technology based learning can begin a lifelong affinity for learning and using technology to make the world a better place for all within it.
In other words, those intending to improve literacy for students must first learn to use their students’ forms of communication in the current technical and visual learning era or “speak their language”. The researchers and students agreed that teachers and afterschool staff members must master the technology that students use to tell their stories in a digital format in order to effectively reach and teach these learners. Federal grant funding is helping afterschool programming in all 50 states with 21st Century Community Learning Centers or 21st CCLC’s that are popular due to their goal of helping to eliminate poverty-related learning gaps across our nation, promoting proper nutrition, and improving learner readiness through student-centered after school enrichment activities. My definition of “student-centered” means that the students alongside afterschool staff members choose the activities they would like to participate in beyond academic remediation afterschool as long as those activities somehow contribute to academic, social, or personal developmental success in some way.
Summer Programs in Rhode Island and Nationwide
“I applaud these outcomes that are the result of keeping the summer learning faucet on,
especially knowing that children are engaged and having a lot of fun while learning,”
Adam Greenman, Executive Director of RIASPA, In response to 2013 results of participating summer program students of whom 15% improved in reading and 45% had better math skills.
(Administration for Children and Families with national Center on child Care Professional Development Systems and Workforce Initiatives: School-Age Success Story: RIASPA Summer Learning Model, 2014,www.chcareta.acf.hhs.gov).
(www.npr.org,Seidel, A. What We Don’t Know About Summer School. July 7, 2014.)
Numerous summer enrichment programs continue elements of the important work that afterschool enrichment programs during summer break in Rhode Island. The latest statistics from the summer of 2013 show that there were a total of 16 programs lasting six weeks that assisted 1450 students During the summer months, students can forget what they have learned throughout the school year which is referred to as the “summer learning slide.” The basic idea in this blog entry is that summer enrichment must be student-centered and not a one-size-fits-all nationwide program. Summer enrichment programs must serve your community’s learning needs. In addition, I agree that programs should be in place in every school district to help students who face the most risk of the “summer learning slide” such as ESL and otherwise learning challenged students.
(www.providencejournal.com. Summer meals program launched in Providence. July 1, 2014.)
For the summer of 2014, Providence introduced a summer meals program at 35 different sites throughout the city where children typically gather such as city pools, rec centers, water parks, and other establishments that students frequent during the summer. My opinion is that this program’s participants will be more prepared to learn in the fall after receiving supplemental nutrition and learning opportunities in safe environments alongside their peers during the summer months. Mayor Angel Tavares, mayor of the city, and RI department of Education officials hope that students will be accessing necessary supplemental nutrition throughout the summer in hopes that this will lead to increased academic performance in the upcoming school year. I am a big supporter of summer academic enrichment and nutrition programs for students who are at risk due to socioeconomic factors beyond their control such as being ESL, learning challenged for whatever reason, or in poverty. There have been many studies that confirm that adequate nutrition contributes to improved academic success therefore I think it is crucial that school districts work year round to make sure that our students are eating enough food to keep their bodies and minds healthy and strong to support families who cannot provide this nutrition for whatever reason.
(www.washingtonpost.com, Wiggins, O. Prince George’s schools offer breakfast and lunch to students during summer. July 8,2014.)
One out of state summer meal program is running in a large urban district, Prince George’s County, Maryland where 43% of its district’s students are self-identified as not getting enough to eat each day during the summer break. Until August 1st, students can receive meals at 60 schools in their county. Public libraries in the county will also offer the free meals to students ages 2 through 18 during the summer of 2014 along with free academic enrichment programs to meet the individual learning needs of their district’s most at risk learners. I applaud the district officials of Prince George’s County Schools for investing in the nutritional needs of their students as well as creating academic enrichment opportunities at their county’s public libraries. The only drawback I found with this program is that you have to have a Prince George’s County student ID to access this program, therefore possibly excluding new Prince George County public school students. I assume and would hope that the meals will be given anyway as long as the child or teen can prove need and residency but that may take a few days which can be problematic from a nutritional perspective. I have seen children fall asleep, have highly disruptive behavioral outbursts, and become ill due to poor nutrition. It is not pleasant to see a child in this kind of personal distress due to hunger or a lack of healthy food at home. As a teacher, I think it is part of my duty to make sure that my students’ developmental needs are supported by the school district and will advocate for these needs wherever I am employed because I think it is the socially correct course of action as a teaching professional.
Potential Problems For After School Enrichment Programs
Unfortunately,not all afterschool and summer enrichment programs are created equally or legally held to high standards of practice for our nation’s most vulnerable students. There are no federal regulations for criteria for afterschool enrichment programs, only state guidelines in states where afterschool programs are deemed important enough to have guidelines for. Rhode Island has set very clear guidelines for afterschool enrichment programs pre-K through 12 through the Rhode Island After School Program Alliance but these are not legally enforced by the state of Rhode Island. The Afterschool Alliance is a nationwide coalition that is promoting afterschool program awareness through media campaigns and federal lobbying yet our federal government has not made public any specific best practices guidelines for afterschool enrichment programs. Until aftercare, afterschool enrichment, and afterschool programs join forces to create agreed upon set standards for curriculum, nutrition, and developmental criteria, ASPs may not gain the momentum necessary to be a presence at all school districts nationwide but I am very hopeful that nationwide afterschool enrichment can and will become standard at private and public schools pre-K through 12 in the not so distant future and will be a great service to all of our nation’s students, students’ families, and the communities in which they live.
Afterschool Enrichment Program Allies Join Forces Across the United States
There are important grassroots advocacy efforts happening in our nation in regard to the movement to create more afterschool enrichment opportunities for all learners under the age of 18 by parents, community organizations, and the law enforcement community because of the widespread positive impact these programs can have for students and their families. Law enforcement agencies are now advocating for afterschool programs from a child safety perspective across the country in an attempt to prevent juvenile delinquency and crimes against children which seems to be gaining traction in the public service and child safety arenas. Parents in various studies are indicating very high satisfaction scores on surveys and are becoming afterschool advocates for a variety of reasons which include academic improvement opportunities, child safety, and the increased ability to work at their jobs without the distraction of wondering if their child or children are safe from harm. The most complete satisfaction research that I found was of the L.A.’s BEST program in which 75% of parents said they were significantly less worried about their children’s safety. LA law enforcement also found that students enrolled in LA’s BEST program were 30% less likely to be involved in a crime or criminal activity. LA law enforcement leaders also determined that each dollar invested in LA’s BEST saved the city $2.50 in juvenile related crime costs. In highly populated areas, these crime fighting and child safety statistics can serve as important justification for developing new ASPs(Afterschool Programs).
This guide is an excellent one to highlight elements of successful
One study found that middle school students whose afterschool enrichment program did not contain one on one tutoring or instruction were less likely to have motivation to complete assignments resulting in no significant improvement in their academic performance.
A Study of the Effectiveness of After-School and Before-School Programs with Low-Performing Middle School Students by Sanders, Jamie Carol, Ed.D., UNION UNIVERSITY, 2011.
Attendance is crucial for students to reap the academic and developmental benefits of afterschool programs. Students with sporadic attendance did not do better academically even with one on one instruction as indicated by 21st CCLC and L.A.’s BEST programs studies. Also, sports centered programs didn’t address academic needs although they do improve self-esteem. If you take a holistic view of a student which is my approach to student achievement, it makes sense that it is not only important to have a great hook to improve attendance but that academic and personal growth opportunities come together to create the ideal situation for a safe healthy academically and growth experience rich environment which I think every child deserves as a right of growing up in the United States as outlined in the Equal Educational Opportunties Act 1974 which states, “ALL school districts will take action to remove barriers to students’ equal participation in education without discrimination of any kind.”
Conclusion: Best Practices for Successful Afterschool Enrichment Programs
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45(3-4), 294-309.
My conclusion made from the many research studies and reports that I’ve gathered is that the most effective afterschool programs for students include several similarities. The first is a staff training period spanning at least one to two years. I agree that a one to two year training course with some type of certification for Afterschool Program staff should be mandatory. Oversight and best practices in place are crucial to the potential a program can have to make substantial positive impacts on student academic, developmental, and future successes beyond grade school. Successful programs incorporate many different programs to appeal to a larger group of students such as art, robotics, computing, intramural sports, unified sports, the arts, drama, and subject related clubs with personal expression elements or social activities. Great programs create the most opportunity for student personal growth and academic success.
The most successful programs worked to increase attendance, especially for children at risk of failing academically or teens who faced delinquency if they did not attend an ASP. Highly effective afterschool programs focused on social skills, emotional well-being, and nutritional needs by offering healthy snacks while encouraging community and parental involvement with a selection of low or no cost courses for students and family members, student led events and exhibitions, community events and parent education opportunities, publicly attended intramural sports or drama productions, and school-wide social events.
The most crucial elements of successful afterschool enrichment programs are the following: Individualized student social and academic goals must be in place.
Staff members must be properly trained in the content areas that they are helping students to master.
Class sizes must be small.
There must be clear communication between school and afterschool staff members.
ASP’s must be formally evaluated.
There must be structured and unstructured learning opportunities.
Math and reading instruction must be based on state standards.
The program must offer participants healthy snacks.
Students must be given educational tools with which to succeed academically.
There must be excellent communication between staff, students, and student family members.
There must be accelerated learning opportunities for at risk learners.
There must be a cost effective way to support after school programs and children’s individual nutritional, educational, and emotional needs.
My opinion is that the above criteria are basic enough to employ in any afterschool enrichment setting given the dedication of an academic community with all beneficiaries participating to create an optimal environment for the program’s success to include the outlying community, school staff members, district leadership, parents or caregivers, and the students themselves. It is also going to take federal and state leadership to put together state and federal regulations, not mere guidelines, to create a truly advantageous atmosphere for students in which to gain the cognitive and non-cognitive skills in a safe and healthy environment where literacy, 21st century skills, and STEM and life skills are taught effectively truly prepare our children in Rhode Island and across the nation the job skills required to thrive in a global economy.
Adopt An Issue: An In-Depth Look at Afterschool Enrichment Programs
By Lara Wibeto, Graduate Student
University of Rhode Island
July 16,2014
“Disadvantaged children benefit if they have an opportunity to participate in excellent after-school enrichment programs.”(Ravitch, 2013)
Introduction
I asked the question: “WHY should all school districts offer afterschool enrichment programs and summer enrichment opportunities in Rhode Island and nationally?” The main goal of my research was to demonstrate how well-orchestrated afterschool enrichment programs can assist students and their families both locally and nationally to build knowledge, improve self-esteem as well as self-confidence, promote overall well-being, and create strong relationships between community members, student families, and school staff that allow students to thrive and also succeed academically in a safe environment. Afterschool enrichment programs should be a catalyst by which students in grades K through 12 may obtain services for improving developmental and personal growth as well as to support academic achievement.
Statement of Relevance for Research of Afterschool Enrichment Programs
My research also supports my belief that afterschool programs can promote a sense of community by acting as an epicenter of community support and activities that strengthen students’ families through diverse learning opportunities that engage and help participating students to be better prepared for learning through various age appropriate activities offered within those afterschool programs. Summer enrichment programs continue the services that the afterschool program offers during the school year and has many benefits both developmentally and academically for all grade school children which I will discuss in detail using various national studies of successful programs.
Afterschool Enrichment Programs in Rhode Island
www.riaspa.org 2014. Afterschool Map Data derived from www.afterschoolri.org/resource-center/afterschool-program-map .
Rhode Island has 224 afterschool programs serving more than 11,000 students statewide according to the Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance(RIASPA) which is the state organization that oversees all RI afterschool programs Other helpful websites for parents and school staff are the Rhode Island Parent Information Network(RIPIN),PASA or Providence After School Alliance, Parent Support Network of Rhode Island, Bright Stars, and Rhode Island Kids Count. There is ample detailed information on programs and others to assist Rhode Island students and their families with educational, nutritional, and developmental needs.
( www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=7065 Bringing youngsters to URI: Graduate Students in reading education help solve literacy challenges. May 6, 2014 Ed.)
The University of Rhode Island has an Afterschool Literacy Program The program, run by Theresa Deeney, Associate Professor of Education, provides one-on-one literacy instruction and assessments to students K through 12 who are identified as having reading challenges. A Champlin grant allowed Ms. Deeney to create a technology network to assist students with disabilities to have an educational level playing field with their peers that met for several months Monday through Friday.
www.ricj.org. Programs tab, scroll down to Youth tab, then hit the Youth Action Council tab in the left sidebar.
The Rhode Island for Community and Justice Center in Providence, RI has a Youth Action Council that is a year-round afterschool program for leadership education, community service projects, and mentoring programs. The students fight bigotry and racism by forming coalitions to within various communities. This group also organizes with Project Respect to prevent teens from succumbing to violence, criminal activity, and substance abuse by pairing teens with peer groups and adult mentors in the Providence area.
The Providence After School Alliance(PASA) is a nationally recognized best practices afterschool enrichment and Summer Scholars enrichment program for all Providence Public School District students 18 and under. Cities such as Cincinnati, Ohio have adopted this afterschool enrichment model in their school districts. This year PASA is piloting a summer break lunch program citywide at various Providence schools and community centers to prevent the summer learning slide and malnutrition of its students while school is not in session. The Summer Scholars program takes urban youth to conduct hands on research and activities related to STEM and 21st Century Skills that are partially funded by RTTT initiatives that work with groups such as Save the Bay to expose children to oceanography and earth sciences who are not typically exposed to these types of sciences at an early age within an urban environment.
Additional examples of successful afterschool programs locally are two that take place at Susan M. Hensler Quidnesset Elementary School and Davisville Middle School. The North Kingstown Child Opportunity Zone Family Learning partnership or COZ/FLP serves 54% or 186 students who are at or below the poverty line at QES and 24% or 131 students at DMS.(nksd.net) There are 61 homeless students attending QES and 18 more in other schools at NKSD which provoked the district to pursue private donations and federal 21st CLCC funds to establish student and family assistance with educational, emotional, and nutritional needs. As a side note, federal 21st CLCC funds are funded through RTTT, a US Department of Education initiative which was created by the Obama Administration in 2010 to replace the Bush Administration’s No Child Left Behind which began the focus on teacher quality and promotion of common core standards for all US schools as well as a focus on measuring teacher and educational quality through high stakes standardized statewide testing which is why RTTT funding requirements are being refused or discontinued in various states currently due to attached standardized test related high school graduation requirements and threats to teacher tenure that many view as unethical and unattainable.
I taught English Language Arts in Phoenix, Arizona where I had a high number of ESL students in my classes who did not do well on standardized tests in English because the English language was so new to them but the state mandated that all students take the tests. Several of my students did a very poor job on the test and these scores were recorded on our teacher evaluations. Most teachers never got above “developing” at our middle school because the test scores were directly tied to our teaching performance goal attainment. Many veteran teachers retired or left after NCLB’s harsh teacher evaluation methods left them with no choice but to spare their excellent teaching records from being tarnished by the new focus on teaching to boost standardized test performance or to improve test taking abilities for students. Urban centers elsewhere have seen an exodus of veteran teachers as a result of the new push for common core national standards and teaching to the test as funding requirements of both NCLB and RTTT.
In North Kingstown, The Blessings in a Backpack program allows students identified as at risk in the program to stop by the school’s family learning office and ask for school supplies, snacks, and food items Monday through Friday as needed to be prepared to learn throughout the school year. The district also provides bus transportation for their programs K to 8. 98% of North Kingstown School District afterschool enrichment students’ parents polled in 2012-2013 said they would re-enroll their child or children in the after school programs there. There is a Homework Club at DMS hosted by teachers funded by RTTT funds and various enrichment opportunities funded by 21st CCLC grant funding, NKSD, RIDE as well as the North Kingstown Arts Council. RTTT provides the test preparation and tutoring for math and reading literacy in regard to Common Core Standards, however students are tutored in all risk of failure subject areas. There are also programs for disabled students beyond tutoring that include accommodations for Unified Sports or other clubs of the student’s choice.
A summer
enrichment program at North Kingstown School District runs for 6 weeks for at risk students. The information I gathered about this program is firsthand from my employment as a long-term district substitute teacher and as an employee of the DMS Family Learning Center during the 2013-14 school year, compiled by the North Kingstown School Committee and reported to the RI Department of Education.
National Impact of Afterschool Enrichment Programs
(Little, P., Wimer, C., & Weiss, H. B. (2008). After school programs in the 21st century: Their potential and what it takes to achieve it.)
I researched the national impact of Afterschool enrichment programs as a way to decrease the socioeconomic education gap for all students and their families. One Harvard Family Research Project study found that teens are at most risk of being crime victims or to be involved in criminal activity between the hours of 3-6 p.m. which is justification for keeping adolescents off of the streets and engaged in activities that improve overall wellness and success in school in after school enrichment programs Teens who were 16-17 years old had more serious vehicular accidents during these peak unattended afterschool hours. Fifty-six percent of students under the age of 18 are left unattended for four or more hours during the school week. The Harvard study also pointed out that unattended high school students were more likely to become sexually active and use drugs or alcohol if left unattended during after school hours leading to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. These facts seem to justify the use of afterschool programs to prevent juvenile delinquency and to improve academic performance.
In addition to keeping children out of harm’s way, afterschool enrichment programs improve development by offering physical, nutritional, and overall positive interaction with school staff and their peers. Only one in seven grade school students in 2011 were unsupervised by adults after school in 2011. This is much improved from the one in four school aged children who were unsupervised back in 1997. Ten percent of all grade school children in the United States is participating in an afterschool care setting according to the 2012 US Census.
(www.census.gov) Currently, over 56 % of US students participate in an aftercare or afterschool setting which is why I believe it is important to have federal oversight and state guidelines to make sure that best practice essentials are firmly in place at all afterschool programs in the United States to maximize positive student and community outcomes.
(Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., & Eccles, J. S. (Eds.). (2005). Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after school and community programs. Psychology Press.)
Children whose parents worked until late in the evening fare worse academically than peers whose parents are able to be at home and help with homework which is why afterschool programs are so essential especially for young adults ages 13 and up whose parents cannot obtain subsidized afterschool care Many researchers are carefully assessing the best delivery of after school enrichment to our nation’s most at risk teens and there are many promising developments. .
(Hull, G., & Zacher, J. (2010). What is after-school worth? Developing literacy and identity out of school. Building Smart Education Systems, pp. 20-23.)
One study of adolescents enrolled in afterschool enrichment programs to help address poverty and lack of access to basic educational tools in urban settings in New York City and Oakland, California showed excellent outcomes for attendees by working on alternative literacy acquisition techniques such as film or digital diaries. I find the Digital Underground Storytelling for Youth(DUSTY)so refreshingly unique and creative in its mission to draw student’s stories out in a highly educational and freeing way through film and digital technology. I like technology based programs such as DUSTY because they foster STEM(science, technology, engineering and math) skill development as well as career exploration through structured and unstructured student-driven learning opportunities after school or throughout the summer months. The positive impact from this exposure to higher level technology based learning can begin a lifelong affinity for learning and using technology to make the world a better place for all within it.
In other words, those intending to improve literacy for students must first learn to use their students’ forms of communication in the current technical and visual learning era or “speak their language”. The researchers and students agreed that teachers and afterschool staff members must master the technology that students use to tell their stories in a digital format in order to effectively reach and teach these learners. Federal grant funding is helping afterschool programming in all 50 states with 21st Century Community Learning Centers or 21st CCLC’s that are popular due to their goal of helping to eliminate poverty-related learning gaps across our nation, promoting proper nutrition, and improving learner readiness through student-centered after school enrichment activities. My definition of “student-centered” means that the students alongside afterschool staff members choose the activities they would like to participate in beyond academic remediation afterschool as long as those activities somehow contribute to academic, social, or personal developmental success in some way.
Summer Programs in Rhode Island and Nationwide
“I applaud these outcomes that are the result of keeping the summer learning faucet on,
especially knowing that children are engaged and having a lot of fun while learning,”
Adam Greenman, Executive Director of RIASPA, In response to 2013 results of participating summer program students of whom 15% improved in reading and 45% had better math skills.
(Administration for Children and Families with national Center on child Care Professional Development Systems and Workforce Initiatives: School-Age Success Story: RIASPA Summer Learning Model, 2014,www.chcareta.acf.hhs.gov).
(www.npr.org,Seidel, A. What We Don’t Know About Summer School. July 7, 2014.)
Numerous summer enrichment programs continue elements of the important work that afterschool enrichment programs during summer break in Rhode Island. The latest statistics from the summer of 2013 show that there were a total of 16 programs lasting six weeks that assisted 1450 students During the summer months, students can forget what they have learned throughout the school year which is referred to as the “summer learning slide.” The basic idea in this blog entry is that summer enrichment must be student-centered and not a one-size-fits-all nationwide program. Summer enrichment programs must serve your community’s learning needs. In addition, I agree that programs should be in place in every school district to help students who face the most risk of the “summer learning slide” such as ESL and otherwise learning challenged students.
(www.providencejournal.com. Summer meals program launched in Providence. July 1, 2014.)
For the summer of 2014, Providence introduced a summer meals program at 35 different sites throughout the city where children typically gather such as city pools, rec centers, water parks, and other establishments that students frequent during the summer. My opinion is that this program’s participants will be more prepared to learn in the fall after receiving supplemental nutrition and learning opportunities in safe environments alongside their peers during the summer months. Mayor Angel Tavares, mayor of the city, and RI department of Education officials hope that students will be accessing necessary supplemental nutrition throughout the summer in hopes that this will lead to increased academic performance in the upcoming school year. I am a big supporter of summer academic enrichment and nutrition programs for students who are at risk due to socioeconomic factors beyond their control such as being ESL, learning challenged for whatever reason, or in poverty. There have been many studies that confirm that adequate nutrition contributes to improved academic success therefore I think it is crucial that school districts work year round to make sure that our students are eating enough food to keep their bodies and minds healthy and strong to support families who cannot provide this nutrition for whatever reason.
(www.washingtonpost.com, Wiggins, O. Prince George’s schools offer breakfast and lunch to students during summer. July 8,2014.)
One out of state summer meal program is running in a large urban district, Prince George’s County, Maryland where 43% of its district’s students are self-identified as not getting enough to eat each day during the summer break. Until August 1st, students can receive meals at 60 schools in their county. Public libraries in the county will also offer the free meals to students ages 2 through 18 during the summer of 2014 along with free academic enrichment programs to meet the individual learning needs of their district’s most at risk learners. I applaud the district officials of Prince George’s County Schools for investing in the nutritional needs of their students as well as creating academic enrichment opportunities at their county’s public libraries. The only drawback I found with this program is that you have to have a Prince George’s County student ID to access this program, therefore possibly excluding new Prince George County public school students. I assume and would hope that the meals will be given anyway as long as the child or teen can prove need and residency but that may take a few days which can be problematic from a nutritional perspective. I have seen children fall asleep, have highly disruptive behavioral outbursts, and become ill due to poor nutrition. It is not pleasant to see a child in this kind of personal distress due to hunger or a lack of healthy food at home. As a teacher, I think it is part of my duty to make sure that my students’ developmental needs are supported by the school district and will advocate for these needs wherever I am employed because I think it is the socially correct course of action as a teaching professional.
Potential Problems For After School Enrichment Programs
(IES Practice Guide,: What Works Clearinghouse. http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/LPS117942/LPS117942/ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/ost_pg_072109.pdf, pp.60-63.)
Unfortunately,not all afterschool and summer enrichment programs are created equally or legally held to high standards of practice for our nation’s most vulnerable students. There are no federal regulations for criteria for afterschool enrichment programs, only state guidelines in states where afterschool programs are deemed important enough to have guidelines for. Rhode Island has set very clear guidelines for afterschool enrichment programs pre-K through 12 through the Rhode Island After School Program Alliance but these are not legally enforced by the state of Rhode Island. The Afterschool Alliance is a nationwide coalition that is promoting afterschool program awareness through media campaigns and federal lobbying yet our federal government has not made public any specific best practices guidelines for afterschool enrichment programs. Until aftercare, afterschool enrichment, and afterschool programs join forces to create agreed upon set standards for curriculum, nutrition, and developmental criteria, ASPs may not gain the momentum necessary to be a presence at all school districts nationwide but I am very hopeful that nationwide afterschool enrichment can and will become standard at private and public schools pre-K through 12 in the not so distant future and will be a great service to all of our nation’s students, students’ families, and the communities in which they live.
Afterschool Enrichment Program Allies Join Forces Across the United States
(http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/documents/factsResearch/2011_Outcomes.pdf)
There are important grassroots advocacy efforts happening in our nation in regard to the movement to create more afterschool enrichment opportunities for all learners under the age of 18 by parents, community organizations, and the law enforcement community because of the widespread positive impact these programs can have for students and their families. Law enforcement agencies are now advocating for afterschool programs from a child safety perspective across the country in an attempt to prevent juvenile delinquency and crimes against children which seems to be gaining traction in the public service and child safety arenas. Parents in various studies are indicating very high satisfaction scores on surveys and are becoming afterschool advocates for a variety of reasons which include academic improvement opportunities, child safety, and the increased ability to work at their jobs without the distraction of wondering if their child or children are safe from harm. The most complete satisfaction research that I found was of the L.A.’s BEST program in which 75% of parents said they were significantly less worried about their children’s safety. LA law enforcement also found that students enrolled in LA’s BEST program were 30% less likely to be involved in a crime or criminal activity. LA law enforcement leaders also determined that each dollar invested in LA’s BEST saved the city $2.50 in juvenile related crime costs. In highly populated areas, these
crime fighting and child safety statistics can serve as important justification for developing new ASPs(Afterschool Programs).
(IES Practice Guide: What Works Clearinghouse. http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/LPS117942/LPS117942/ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/ost_pg_072109.pdf, pp.60-63.)
This guide is an excellent one to highlight elements of successful
One study found that middle school students whose afterschool enrichment program did not contain one on one tutoring or instruction were less likely to have motivation to complete assignments resulting in no significant improvement in their academic performance.
A Study of the Effectiveness of After-School and Before-School Programs with Low-Performing Middle School Students by Sanders, Jamie Carol, Ed.D., UNION UNIVERSITY, 2011.
Attendance is crucial for students to reap the academic and developmental benefits of afterschool programs. Students with sporadic attendance did not do better academically even with one on one instruction as indicated by 21st CCLC and L.A.’s BEST programs studies. Also, sports centered programs didn’t address academic needs although they do improve self-esteem. If you take a holistic view of a student which is my approach to student achievement, it makes sense that it is not only important to have a great hook to improve attendance but that academic and personal growth opportunities come together to create the ideal situation for a safe healthy academically and growth experience rich environment which I think every child deserves as a right of growing up in the United States as outlined in the Equal Educational Opportunties Act 1974 which states, “ALL school districts will take action to remove barriers to students’ equal participation in education without discrimination of any kind.”
Conclusion: Best Practices for Successful Afterschool Enrichment Programs
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45(3-4), 294-309.
My conclusion made from the many research studies and reports that I’ve gathered is that the most effective afterschool programs for students include several similarities. The first is a staff training period spanning at least one to two years. I agree that a one to two year training course with some type of certification for Afterschool Program staff should be mandatory. Oversight and best practices in place are crucial to the potential a program can have to make substantial positive impacts on student academic, developmental, and future successes beyond grade school. Successful programs incorporate many different programs to appeal to a larger group of students such as art, robotics, computing, intramural sports, unified sports, the arts, drama, and subject related clubs with personal expression elements or social activities. Great programs create the most opportunity for student personal growth and academic success.
The most successful programs worked to increase attendance, especially for children at risk of failing academically or teens who faced delinquency if they did not attend an ASP. Highly effective afterschool programs focused on social skills, emotional well-being, and nutritional needs by offering healthy snacks while encouraging community and parental involvement with a selection of low or no cost courses for students and family members, student led events and exhibitions, community events and parent education opportunities, publicly attended intramural sports or drama productions, and school-wide social events.
(www.naesp.org,Research Report: Successful After-school Programs. Principal, 2006 May/June Ed., pp 34-36.)
The most crucial elements of successful afterschool enrichment programs are the following: Individualized student social and academic goals must be in place.
- The program must offer participants healthy snacks.
- Students must be given educational tools with which to succeed academically.
- There must be excellent communication between staff, students, and student family members.
- There must be accelerated learning opportunities for at risk learners.
- There must be a cost effective way to support after school programs and children’s individual nutritional, educational, and emotional needs.
My opinion is that the above criteria are basic enough to employ in any afterschool enrichment setting given the dedication of an academic community with all beneficiaries participating to create an optimal environment for the program’s success to include the outlying community, school staff members, district leadership, parents or caregivers, and the students themselves. It is also going to take federal and state leadership to put together state and federal regulations, not mere guidelines, to create a truly advantageous atmosphere for students in which to gain the cognitive and non-cognitive skills in a safe and healthy environment where literacy, 21st century skills, and STEM and life skills are taught effectively truly prepare our children in Rhode Island and across the nation the job skills required to thrive in a global economy.Web Links With Instructions
National Principals Conference Data. 2013. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practice_guides/ost_pg_072109.pdf IES Practice Guide: What Works Clearinghouse,pp.60-63.)
www.census.gov: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013, “Child Care Costs on the Upswing”, Census Bureau Reports. Data retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb13-62.html
www.childcareta.acf.hhs.gov, School-Age Success Story: Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance Summer Learning Model. June 2014.
www.naesp.org ,Research Report: Successful After-school Programs. National Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals, 2006 May/June Ed., pp 34-36. Data retrieved from http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2006/M-Jp34.pdf
www.providencejournal.com Borg, Linda. Summer meals program launched in Providence. July 1, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.providencejournal.com/news/education/20140701-summer-meals-program-launched-in-providence.ece)
www.ricj.org. Programs tab, scroll down to Youth tab, then hit the Youth Action Council tab in the left sidebar.
www.washingtonpost.com, Wiggins, O. Prince George’s schools offer breakfast and lunch to students during summer. July 8,2014. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/prince-georges-schools-offer-breakfast-and-lunch-to-students-during-summer/2014/07/08/d193468c-06b3-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html